Whether you decide to do the preparation work yourself or have a professional do it as part of your project, proper preparation makes all the difference in creating a smooth and lasting finish. Sure, it adds to your the total time and money spent on your project, but it's certainly worth doing the job right the first time. Otherwise, you'll spend additional time and money down the line on maintenance and repairs. To ensure proper preparation, follow this process before painting your home's exterior (keeping in mind that the process may vary based on exterior materials):
Hi Elaine, We would be happy to get you connected with a painting and wallpaper pro. You can submit a service request on our website: http://www.homeadvisor.com/ or browse reviews for local pros here: http://www.homeadvisor.com/c.html. We can also have a project advisor reach out to assist you if you send your contact information to [email protected] –HASupport

Painting techniques like striping, color blocking, stencils, and accent walls are also an option for using color to visually expand a small home. Large horizontal stripes can widen or elongate a room and look especially pretty using colors that are similar. Bold and contrasting colors are daring for a small space, while an accent wall allows you to showcase one special area of the room. Try something new in your smaller home and prepare to be wowed by the pop that the right color can provide. Westminster CO Home Painters

"We just had our roof replaced by LBJ Roofing. Christian and his crew were friendly, professional and fast - completing the job within a day and a half. They repaired a section of water-damaged garage ceiling and replaced rotten decking and, as a bonus, they replaced the gutters on the backside of the house. The workers cleaned up easily (by placing tarps around the house to catch loose nails and debris). The job was outstanding and the cost less than competitors. Highly recommended."

Painting the exterior of your home is an essential maintenance task that can be challenging, time-consuming and extremely messy. The fastest and safest way to get the job done right is to hire a professional exterior painting contractor. A pro will have the right tools, equipment, and experience for the job, will be able to recommend the most effective paints for your particular project, and can handle the necessary prep work to ensure a lasting finish. They will also select the best time to paint your home to keep the project within your timeline and budget. WOW! I think the guy I hired read this first and I have photos that would make your skin crawl. Bottom line: he got me for $1900.00. Every single thing he painted had to be completely redone....that's when I discovered he did NOT use the colors I picked, he actually used leftover exterior paint from his mother's house! Because I have pets he said things needed to be sealed first and I did agree to that. What I did NOT agree to was using some kind of foul smelling gray stuff ON MY HARDWOOD FLOORS! THEN he painted them BLACK, telling me that all they were good for was covering over with laminate or carpet. He also dripped and tracked paint all over my ceramic tile floors. PLUS left a wet used paint roller in my garden window and had stuff piled in front so I didn't find it until it had dried. I have no idea how much that is going to cost to repair. Then he left without finishing (thank God) but left the "leftover" paint, uncovered, in the rain. Again, hid it so I didn't immediately find it. Obviously we will be going to court but I doubt if I see a penny from him.
Our team of industrial, commercial & residential paint contractors have many years of experience working on projects of all sizes. All projects are managed and staffed by in-house professional employees from start to finish. With our attention to detail and commitment to excellent customer service, you can be assured that your project will be successfully completed on time and within your budget. Repaint — exteriors especially — before visible signs of wear appear, Bancroft says. Don’t wait until you see peeling or flaking paint. “If I have to spend 40 hours preparing the surface before we can paint, that time is going to result in a lot of extra costs. But if I can spend 10 hours preparing the surfaces to be painted, you’re going to save money,” Freeman says.
If you have ornamental or colorful trees, shrubbery or floral selections around your home you should figure their colors into the color scheme selection that is made. These landscaping attributes will have an effect on how appealing the property is as a whole throughout the year. Homes that have a great deal of trees can make the property darker and cast shadows onto the home. Individuals will want to avoid darker colors for these situations.

I am getting quotes to paint the exterior of a 2,500 sq ft split levei home that just had all new windows and pre-primed Hardiplank installed 3 months ago. the quotes are up to $2,500 different ranging from power wash,prime again 3 coats of paint to no powerwash needed so soon and one coat of paint.. All quotes include trim. One includes complete replacement of 80 feet facia boards another just 40 feet.

The state of Florida does not have specific licensing requirements for contractors who solely provide painting services. Contractors who construct or demolish any part of the home for compensation are required to have a general contractor's license, however. In addition, painters who work in homes built before 1978 or buildings occupied by children are required to obtain a lead paint certification in Florida. This is to ensure proper handling and disposal of lead-based paint.
Not all people live where they can hire a painting contractor, like you describe. People who live in small towns can only hire painters who have a very small business, and do two or three paint jobs per week. In this case, you do have to be very careful, when you hire a painter, as we have several, in our area, who are out to make a fast buck anyway they can.
I disagree with your criteria to hire a painter. A prompt returned call is nice but does not indicate the quality or fairness of the painter. As far as a written estimate, that should be more of a qualifier for the bid versus an evaluation criterion. I'm not sure one would have favorable results by hiring a painter on this basis. As far as the bidding process, change orders should ONLY be used if the customer requests additional scope (PMP 101). Angie's list should consider asking reviewers if/how much they were told to pay compared with the estimate. Unfortunately, there are a lot of contractors that are unethical and need to be accountable.
Only a dummy gets involved with so-called "contractors." Hire a qualified actual worker yourself. Check out their resume/background, etc. RULE #1..NO ADVANCE DEPOSITS! Pay daily or weekly or upon satisfied completion according your standard, not workers. Contractors are merely employment agents. If that's the way you get work done, then go ahead and waste your money and wind up with the myriad of problems enumerated upon in the news clip above. RULE#2.. NO SMOKERS. They are lighting up on your money. RULE#3: No cell phones while working. Talk on their own time after work

You can watch all the DIY YouTube videos you want and still not achieve that elusive, professional finish. Certain skills can't be taught; instead, they're learned through experience and practice. The painting professionals on the Handy platform know the tricks of the trade that'll leave your home looking its best. It's skills like these that allow your residential home painters to get your job done quickly and cheaply, without compromising on quality. Book your home painters through Handy, and you'll be connected with top-rated, reviewed professionals in your area. Painting and decorating might look easy on an online tutorial, but it can cost you an awful lot of time and money to discover that it isn't. Don't gamble with the way your house looks: book a professional house painter through Handy today and achieve the look you deserve.

Our team of industrial, commercial & residential paint contractors have many years of experience working on projects of all sizes. All projects are managed and staffed by in-house professional employees from start to finish. With our attention to detail and commitment to excellent customer service, you can be assured that your project will be successfully completed on time and within your budget. Want to know the color you pick will be good in your room? With this tool you can put it on some "walls" before you even paint. Here you can do it with Glidden's room visualizer tool linked below. Either pick from our selections of rooms or upload your own and you can change walls and trim to find your perfect color. {^widget|(name)CtaButton|(Label)Paint+Your+Room+Online|(Url)https%3a%2f%2fwww.visualizecolor.com%2fglidden%23%2f|(ButtonID)Paint+Your+Room+Online|(Target)_blank|(Color)d6414d|(Edge)btn-rect|(GtmT)cta|(widget_displayname)CTA+Button^}

To solidify this response, we have been in business for over 30 years as a painting contractor. We didn't just paint a couple of houses 25 or 30 years ago, we paint approximately 900-1000 painting jobs per year and operate with 40 professional painters doing commercial, residential and industrial painting. This article on behalf of Angie's List is totally asinine! I was under the impression Angie's List was only carrying "legitimate" contractors with established reputations. This article written is primarily referring to bottom feeding, one man band operations, trying to hustle for a paycheck.

The materials of the home’s facade should be considered before painting your home. When painting flat surfaces like siding or wood, you can opt for standard outdoor paint. When painting a textured surface like stucco or brick, “elastomeric” paint is a much better choice. This type of paint can stretch more than normal paint, which allows it to bridge over small gaps and crevices, painting smoothly over texture.

When you choose Five Star Painting residential house painting contractors, you can feel confident that you are hiring the best in the business. Local Five Star painters have been serving clients throughout the United States and Canada since 2004. From taking time to prepare the area to using exactly the right equipment for each job, we make sure the project is done correctly. Our experience shows: We’re good at what we do, and our clients are always happy with the work we leave behind!

To begin, move everything out of the room. Every painter we spoke with had a horror story about the time he didn't follow Rule No. 1. Bigger pieces of furniture can sometimes be left covered in the center of larger rooms, but if you are repairing drywall, says Chris Span, of Span's Quality Painting in Mobile, Alabama, "Take everything out. Drywall dust goes everywhere." Remove doors, light fixtures and hardware, and label everything with masking tape. Also, invest in drop cloths. "It's surprising how well a few drops of paint can cover a floor," says Rich Maceyunas, of Maceyunas Painting and Wallpaper in Waterbury, Connecticut. Buy high-quality drop cloths, such as canvas or paper-backed plastic. (Paint soaks right through lightweight fabrics and bedsheets.) Plastic sheeting works, but it's very slippery and doesn't absorb drips. If there is any peeling — and there usually is somewhere — it's essential to scrape off any loose paint. This doesn't just mean the parts that are already separated from the wood and ready to fall off on their own. Each spot where paint has peeled loose needs to be scraped thoroughly until you can no longer get the sharp corner of a putty knife under any of the surrounding edges of paint. Then, the bare spot needs to be sanded until the paint edges are smooth.

Here is where this affects you as a consumer. You select a painter with a contract that says 2 coats, $500 down. You give the company the deposit and pick your colors a couple of days before the project starts. The painter goes to the store with your colors and figures out they are deep base. He (or she) not only needs to charge you more for the paint, but he also needs to charge you for a dark gray primer coat. Ninety nine percent of the time that primer coat is going to be really, really expensive since you already gave a deposit.

The other difficult part is getting a painting contractor to show up. While this generalization does not apply to every painter, personally I am extremely grateful if I can get a paint contractor to show up to look at the house and to later produce a written estimate. I hardly fault the painting contractors, because I think it is a combination of the contractors being smaller operations along with a high demand for their work.
The companies with the best paint products are Benjamin Moore, Dunn Edwards, Sherwin Williams, and Vista Paint. As a painter I don't recommend Berh from Home Depot as much because it's quality is just marketing. Flat paint has no sheen and it shows its true color, but is not easy to wash or clean. Satin, eggshell have low sheen and is washable. Semigloss ang glossy has a high sheen and these paints are recommended for bathrooms and kitchen or where there's high humidity and steam.
Based in the United Kingdom, Ian Linton has been a professional writer since 1990. His articles on marketing, technology and distance running have appeared in magazines such as “Marketing” and “Runner's World.” Linton has also authored more than 20 published books and is a copywriter for global companies. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in history and economics from Bristol University.
Estimates are one of the most important tools to help you land the next job. During our most recent webinar series on estimating, Fred Yarur of PEP (Painter’s Estimating Program) outlined 10 foundational principles to support effective estimating procedures. Use estimate tools. These enhance your ability to make informed decisions. Estimating is the process of […]
For interior paint I prefer the semi-gloss, provides a very subtle sheen and is super easy to clean -no flaking, chipping, etc. I've painted a lot, and found that Sherwin Williams Ovation paint has been the easiest to use, and provides the best coverage. I even painted my ceilings with it and WOW! I was done it no time at all, with perfect coverage.
If you have ornamental or colorful trees, shrubbery or floral selections around your home you should figure their colors into the color scheme selection that is made. These landscaping attributes will have an effect on how appealing the property is as a whole throughout the year. Homes that have a great deal of trees can make the property darker and cast shadows onto the home. Individuals will want to avoid darker colors for these situations.
You will want to use the highest quality exterior home paint your budget will allow for your project -- not only because it will look the nicest, but also because it will save you money in the long term by offering better coverage and durability. Better coverage means fewer coats and fewer work hours for your painter; better durability means that you won't have to spend money to paint the exterior of your home again in just a few years. How do you know how much paint you're paying for? Here's some helpful math:

First off, the picture on the top THAT IS A HOME OWNERS PAINT JOB. If you here a school kid or your neighbor, this is what you get. I was a painting contractor for the better part of 40 years and never saw a PAINTER (even the worst painter) leave a mess like that. Maybe the electrician or the carpenter but, that is not something a painter could even do if they tried.

basic formula? single color exterior labor only ranges from $0.85 to $0.95 per sq foot as a BASE starting point. Prices go up depending on multiple colors, slope of surrounding areas, multiple stories..etc.Some painters charge per window to mask off. Ive seen $25 a window to $50. Interiors without flooring can be factored the same way. When you start having to do multiple colors, cut ins, masking, room isolation...etc. the price jumps considerably. I always start with a base of $0.85 a sq foot and figure it out from there. the season plays a major role too. paint and materials are charged separatly and are typically marked up at a minimum of 15%. I always tell clients this. that way they pick the paint out they want and what quality they want as well. Anyways...thats your base. 1250 sq foot home @ .0.95 a ft = $1,187.50 (one color). Pressure washing, Add another $45-$55 per hour. a 1250 sq ft home is not going to take longer than 2-3 hours if its a single story.

Lap marks are those ugly stripes caused by uneven layers of paint buildup. They occur when you roll over paint that’s already partly dry. (In warm, dry conditions, latex paint can begin to stiffen in less than a minute!) The key to avoiding lap marks when doing DIY wall painting is to maintain a “wet edge,” so each stroke of your roller overlaps the previous stroke before the paint can begin to dry.
Excellent advice because there are many unskilled workers who are "trying to pull the wool over the customers eyes". One has to study about the project for which they are in need. I happen to need dry wall repair and painting done in my home and feel the advice in this article will be a great help to me in hiring someone who is ethical and does good work. Thanks.
Professional painters provide estimates primarily based on the square footage of your home. Painting an average home between 500 and 1,500 square feet can cost between $1,000 and $3,000. However, factors such as number of stories and ease of access can also affect the overall price. Homeowners report that the average cost to paint a house nationally is $2,581 and most pay between $1,714 and $3,682.

Painting techniques like striping, color blocking, stencils, and accent walls are also an option for using color to visually expand a small home. Large horizontal stripes can widen or elongate a room and look especially pretty using colors that are similar. Bold and contrasting colors are daring for a small space, while an accent wall allows you to showcase one special area of the room. Try something new in your smaller home and prepare to be wowed by the pop that the right color can provide.

Painting techniques like striping, color blocking, stencils, and accent walls are also an option for using color to visually expand a small home. Large horizontal stripes can widen or elongate a room and look especially pretty using colors that are similar. Bold and contrasting colors are daring for a small space, while an accent wall allows you to showcase one special area of the room. Try something new in your smaller home and prepare to be wowed by the pop that the right color can provide.

I would not recommend this company for the following reasons:1. Original appointment was very specific to them on what was needed and to take photos for 3 apartment unit plumbing fixture repairs. One unit had a bathroom tub/shower backup.2. No photos taken, 3 trips later and only 1 unit completed to satisfaction. (Backup) 3. Other faucets unable to find on line with their suppliers and repair 4. Had to find another plumbing company to complete the jobs. 5. Invoicing had to be redone as not in detail of job address for tax purposes 6. Bad communication throughout the project process with their internal customer service. Their technician and project manager ordering parts. 7. For the back up. Did not bring out correct snake on both trips and had to replace lines as too small to break through backup. Costing over $800 for 3 trips just to complete that situation out. 8. Ordered the wrong parts when 2nd trip out since no photos taken to confirm what was needed. Very dissatisfied and will never ask them to work in any of our rental properties again.

Excellent advice because there are many unskilled workers who are "trying to pull the wool over the customers eyes". One has to study about the project for which they are in need. I happen to need dry wall repair and painting done in my home and feel the advice in this article will be a great help to me in hiring someone who is ethical and does good work. Thanks.

"Cutting in is an acquired skill, but it's something you can't do at all with a ratty brush," says Doherty. When cutting in on a wall, he loads his brush and spreads out the excess paint, then works the brush up to the line between wall and ceiling. A brush stroke that's too wide creates a hatband, or smooth brushed band, on the very top of the wall where it meets the ceiling. To avoid this, Dixon recommends rolling first and then cutting in with a brush. "A good roller can get within 1/2 inch of the ceiling," he says. "You'll save time by not brushing more then you have to." When painting baseboards, "a wide taping knife makes a good paint guard," says Span. "Just keep the blade clean to prevent drips from working around the edge of the knife."

Hello, I have a sad situation to share -- a friend of mine who is a very good painter, experienced too, fell off a tall ladder that did not have "boots" on it. (I've never seen those.) Anyway, do you think he should have asked for boots before painting? Possibly it was a situation where he was shy to ask because he wanted the job... (I don't know all the details.)

There are permanent features of the home that have their own colors which cannot be changed when painting the exterior of the home but can have a dramatic satisfaction level that is experienced when the painting is completed. Roofing shingles, paving blocks, concrete surfaces, stones and other such features are prime examples of the colors that should be considered when selecting your exterior color scheme for the home. Homeowners can work off of these colors to make a home that looks uniform and luxurious when the exterior painting is complete.

However, David, who works in Excel's office, really left a bad taste in our mouth for the whole project. We didn't love the color our house ended up being - a color match that Excel performed for us - and expressed as such. David was a nightmare to work with once we mentioned we had a problem. He had terribe customer service skills and repeatedly made us feel like it was our fault and that we were stupid. Painting our house was a big commitment and investment in our eyes, and he was not the least bit helpful in trying to get us to an end product we would be happy with. In fact, he succeeded in making us even more unhappy to the point that we gave up on even having Excel repaint to get us to a color we'd be happy with. A very disappointing experience. The only time it's acceptable to mix water in the paint is when you're using a deep or ultra deep base paint to reduce its stickiness, which is rare with new paint technology. Dark primary colors are composed almost entirely of tint that makes it very hard to work with without adding water. (You never use a sprayer and need to thin paint.?) If i was still in the industry I'd take the time to make a better article than this. Take this for a grain of slat. Use a reputable painter or someone you know you can trust or has been referred to you by someone you trust. I wouldn't hire anyone I had to watch like a hawk to make sure they're not screwing me.
The cost to paint the exterior of your home will vary depending on the size of your home, the condition of your siding, type of paint used and other factors. The average cost for labor and supplies ranges between $1,800-$3,800 and it may cost $6,500 or more for a large, custom project. In addition, you may need to pay more if there is damage to your siding or other challenging aspects of your job.